A Hundred Years To Live
by Literature work
Summary: "So as long as I have your life you will always have mine. That's something that can't be taken away because I am a greedy fucking bastard, Winry. I ain't ever giving you up for nothing in this world or the next." Edward trying to comfort Winry in the late hours of the evening. Oneshot. Please Review.


_Author's Note: Okay so I wanted to write something short for the third of October... unfortunately I am just two hours late for that but we could pretend. Since I wasn't posting a chapter today I just wanted to give a little something at least even though it might be sad. And yes I was listening to 100 years while writing this and well... you can see some of the influence. I just hope you all enjoy it. Please Review if you can!_

 ** _A Hundred Years to Live_**

Winry sat on the edge of her husband's bed. It was somewhere that she knew to be so warm over the years only topped by the man's arms that shared it with her. Now it was cold and though she could have had all of the company in the world, nothing would have made that room seem any less lonely at that moment. She grasped the pale hand of her husband in an attempt to grab some warmth from it but it provided only a flicker. It was a small flame, ready to be put out at any second by the dam of tears that threatened to break in her eyes. She closed them, hoping to prevent them from spilling over. However, every second she kept them closed was another second gone that she could have seen those golden eyes one last time. The hand she held, calloused from all of the work the man put in to keep their household together, lifted from her desperate grasp and held her cheek softly. They were rough against her skin but held a familiarity to them that seemed to ease the burning distress inside of her, even for a little bit.

"Winry," the deep and gentle voice of her husband said. Her name sounded heavy on his lips but it seemed to have given him a great pleasure in saying it. He always made sure to remind her how beautiful her name was. "Look at me," he asked her, his voice weak and failing. Her chest heaved as she tried to hold back a sob and force her eyes open. She knew for sure that the dams holding back her tear were sure to break and she knew that once broken they weren't ever going to stop even when there was no more water left to drain. It took all the effort in the world just to open them but she didn't regret it once she caught hold of the caring gold eyes she fell in love with so long ago. Though the years haven't been too kindly to them, they held sunlight underneath the shallow wrinkles of gratefully pained smile. A soft chuckle escaped him as he looked into her eyes, happy to look on her one last time.

"There you go," he smiled quietly. "You know how much I hate to see you cry… especially if it was me who caused it." Winry, against her desire to keep them open, closed her eyes again as she openly wept with her husband's words lingering in her ears. He always reminded her to smile, every day. He always said it made the world brighter. Edward was what made her world shine but like the setting sun the light was fading fast into the twilight. The hand on her cheek slowly moved to wipe the tears from her face, an effort made in vain.

"You… you stupid alchemy freak," Winry cried, her voice catching in her thick throat. "You didn't cause anything." The smile on his face just got bigger and Winry found herself desperately trying to mimic it for some hope of normality in the moment.

"What would I ever do without you, gear head?" the man coughed lightly.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one to ask that in this situation?" she asked, hope dwindling in her heart, wishing that he would say something that would take the pain away but she knew it wasn't coming. The golden eyes looked down for a split second as if her words had hit his own weakly beating heart. He didn't seem to have an answer. Winry felt another sob coming on and she furiously tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I-I don't feel like I have enough time. You can't go, Edward."

"Winry, there's still time for you," he whispered softly, pulling her gently close to him. His motion was weak so she had to move for him but once they were together once more in their bed, with each other's embrace, the world didn't seem as lonely as it once was. She held him firmly, unable to imagine a day without him. She hoped that if she held on tight enough, he couldn't just slip away. He would always be there with her. But even as they were together, he was slowly fading, the cancer in his lungs taking his breath away more every day. She never could know when his last would be."Remember when I proposed to you?" Edward asked softly, a smile coming back to his face. Winry breathed lightly as she tried to withhold a hurt chuckle at the mere memory of his proposal.

"You were such a dork, Edward. But…," Winry mumbled, a smile on her own face, coming back slowly in the thickness of the moment, "you sure did it right." That earned a dying laugh from her husband as he too knew how awkward he was.

"Yes I did," he sighed. "But I promised you my life. I might be gone Winry, but I will never leave you I promise that, for you in return promised me yours."

"Equivalent Exchange," Winry muttered. It was the one and only thing she really understood of that mad science her husband studied in. It was the foundation of his life, and she could understand why. It had a fairness to it even though they lived in a world that wasn't up to par. It gave him hope.

"Yes. Equivalent Exchange. So as long as I have your life you will always have mine. That's something that can't be taken away because I am a greedy fucking bastard, Winry. I ain't ever giving you up for nothing in this world or the next," he said with a huge devilish grin on his face. He gave her a light peck on the nose and Winry couldn't help but snort at his humorous behavior. He always knew how to make her laugh, whether on purpose or not. It seemed her smile made everything better in his life and the same went with her. He made her feel silly for crying when a smile made everything better. The pain was lighter, the room less empty. However there was still a weight there and Winry was afraid that it would never leave.

"It's going to be a long time Edward… without you," she sighed as he pulled her a little closer, his arms weak and losing their grip on her.

"We all only have a hundred years to live. It's enough for a story, a good ending. When you put it into perspective, it isn't too terrible time to wait."

"You always had a twisted sense of perspective," Winry whispered as she rested her head on his chest. It was warm and if she listened very carefully she could hear his heart fighting to keep going. She didn't know if hers would be able to do the same. The Elrics were alway fighters, maybe she would have to see if that was a reason he married her in the first place. She sighed heavily, her eyes waterfalls, reduced to a small trickle as the night wore on. "It will still seem so long. I don't think I would be able to stop counting ways to you."

"You have given me two good feet to walk on Winry, I wish I could give you something to help you keep moving but… please keep walking," Edward begged her, his voice worried and yet unable to help in his current state. He held onto her tighter as if dreaming the same things she did earlier, hoping that she wouldn't slip away either. They were both scared, like little children, but they each knew now what the future would entail; greif and broken hearts. "Every day's a new day, Winry. Don't count them, make them count." With that said they laid in still silence. They were in a place where Winry could never feel safer, in the arms of each other. If only they could stay like that forever. Was there a wish she could have that would be better than that? She highly doubted it. As they laid there together, the hours counting to the unknown and their futures blurred between the darkness, Winy felt herself grow tired in her husband's arms. His eyes were closed and his breaths shallow, probably having fallen asleep in the now early hours of the morning. Was this to be their last night? Or the next? How many more would she have to spend with out him. However many questions burdened her, she felt her eyes slowly close against her husband's wishes as she too felt the evening drawing to a close. She curled up against him and their bed quickly was warm again like it used to be.

"It's only a hundred years right?"


End file.
